There are many benefits to legalizing marijuana as there are disadvantages. Benefits would include less crowded courts, jails and prisons and a proper system for controlling the drug’s use.

The disadvantages of legalization would surround the extent to which use, which is scientifically proven to be harmful, would be increased.

After weighing the pros and cons, I have come to favor its remaining illegal.

Marijuana is an addictive drug that has several physiological effects, including enhanced sound, smell and taste.

It also produces distortions in depth perception. This last-mentioned effect can cause serious accidents when users are under the influence of the drug and attempt to drive or operate machinery.

The benefits of legalizing marijuana would be more in the personal interests and benefits of those who want to use it than in the interests of the general population.

Since marijuana is illegal and thus unregulated, it is often mixed with other substances, and consumers have no guarantees as to the exact substance they are purchasing.

These unknown substances can sometimes cause damage beyond the effects of marijuana itself to the individuals ingesting the substances.

If marijuana were legalized, there could be a controlled system for its production for human consumption through pharmacies and doctors’ prescriptions.

Thus, the consumers could be guaranteed a pure product. This also could serve as a way to regulate its use.

Another problem with marijuana (as with any other illegal product) is that the prices are usually very high.

When drug addicts run out of money and can’t get a hold of the drug they use, they suffer multiple psychological and physiological problems and may resort to crime to obtain money to diminish or ease their discomfort.

The high price and unattainability of illegal marijuana also puts power in the hands of drug lords, mobs and gangs. If marijuana were legalized, it would become more accessible and less expensive, thus reducing crime.

But even when a drug is legalized, as happened with alcohol at the end of Prohibition, other drug-related problems arise —ÿsuch as increased accidents while users are under the influence.

If marijuana were legalized, the drug would become more widespread and available to the general public, which means more and more people could become addicted to it.

This inevitably would lead to more pregnant mothers becoming addicted. Marijuana use by pregnant mothers is associated with increased tremors and nervousness among newborns and poorer verbal and memory development at four years of age.

An environment where marijuana use is reinforced by parents and society eventually would lead to its consumption by children and by others unfamiliar with its side effects.

Marijuana could seriously damage these people by shifting their personalities toward passivity and leave them a general lack of motivation.

These conditions are long-term consequences of marijuana use.

I believe that the interests of the general population overrides the interests of individuals who are seeking temporary physiological pleasure.

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Edward Fetzer

Senior

Biology